Ezekiel 12:4-8

By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.

So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying...

Sometimes the call of God is clear, but at the sometime can be a bit vague....

Ezekiel was commanded to dig through the wall, which he did - that much was clear - then what? There was a night of waiting, wondering, looking foolish. A demolished wall behind him but no fanfare of obedience awaiting outside, no reward just an awkward silence. He became a public spectacle without understanding why. God didn't explain until the next day.

"Did I really hear correctly...I have obeyed you Lord and now you go quiet?"

No, there is no hesitation. Ezekiel is confident because he knows a key to walking with the HS. Sometimes God say "go", other times he says "no", and Ezekiel understands "slow". When God calls us to walk with Him and match His pace.

God gave enough for Ezekiel to be obedient, but not enough for him to be independent. That's Slow. One step at a time, at His speed.

Abraham learned this too...

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

Did you catch that?
God didn't give directions to Abram, arriving at the destination isn't what this is about, it was an invitation from God to go on a journey with Him. 

This is the slow.

It is too easy to do God's work for Him at our pace and in our own way. We get a sniff "go", of His call, and roar off with all our energy doing God's work for Him. Then what happens? He has to pull us back in. And we start to hear "No". And we bounce between these realities. We need to hear and understand when God tells us "slow".

You see God doesn't need our strength, wisdom or assistance. We kid ourselves. The destination of His call is always in His capable hands. He asks us along for the journey.

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Water baptism is an important step in our Christian walk, not only as an act of obedience but as a powerful declaration. By being baptised like Jesus did, we declare publicly our identity with him, and our intention to follow His teaching and will for our lives.

John called it baptism of repentance - a sign of turning away from one thing, and turning towards something else. The water a symbol of becoming clean.
For example you may be doing something which is dirty - digging the flowers, and want to go for a nap. You wouldn't jump into bed with the boot and overalls on. You would change and wash. You would prepare for the environment you are about to enter.

That is what baptism means. It symbolizes our intention to become clean and enter into the call of God. It is acceptance of God's invitation.

Invitation into what?

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

At his baptism God the Father proclaimed His favor over Jesus...well of course He does this is Jesus we are talking bout.

Do you believe God loves you too?

Do you really believe He looks on you and whispers "You are my beloved"
He does. Always has. Always will.
The cross shouts it at us. The truth of the cross grabs us by our chin, looks deep into our eyes. He sees the brokenness, unworthiness and pain and embraces it all. 

"You are worthy"

When our hearts hear this voice and we believe, baptism is our reply. 

We join Jesus in the water, standing before God the Father in acceptance of His word "You are my beloved".

Baptism is a powerful declaration we make to God the Father that we accept His love and invitation to be a son or daughter and part of the family of God.

Talk to one of the pastors or your home group leader if you think water baptism may be a step the Lord is calling you to take.

Optimism = "hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something."

In order to better understand people’s views of the world, a researcher once placed two children, one a pessimist and the other an optimist, alone in separate rooms.

The pessimist was placed in a colorful room full of all kinds of imaginative toys…the optimist was put in a room filled with horse manure.

The first child played in the room for a little while, but soon came to the door asking to leave because the toys were boring and because they broke too easily.

Likewise, the young optimist soon came to the door…but rather than asking to leave, she asked for a shovel.

Of course, the researcher asked the child why she wanted a shovel.

She replied, “With all this manure around, I know that there must be a pony in here somewhere.”

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I think that is today's life there are many things that can make us pessimistic about life. Stories about war, strife, hunger, ungodliness and many other things, just watch the news. You don't often get news of good things that is happening, but God's word urges us on to be optimistic about life.

Psalm 52:8 really reflects with me personally, its says "But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever."

So you might ask the question "Why should I be optimistic about things, about life and about the future?

You know why, because we have hope, hope and the promise of God in his word that should make us very optimistic about life, about the future. To stand with the full knowledge of God promises in our life as children of God, as stated in Psalm 27 and many other scriptures

Psalm 27:1-3 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident."

This week I've been reading Matthew, and one passage that has really challenged me here is Matthew 7:12:

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

In reading commentaries on this passage I found something interesting about the context in which Jesus delivered this command:

The negative way of stating this command was known long before Jesus. It had long been said, “You should not do to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you.” But it is a significant advance for Jesus to put it in the positive, to say that we should do unto others what we want them to do unto us.

In so doing, Jesus makes the command much broader. It is the difference between not breaking traffic laws and in doing something positive like helping a stranded motorist. Under the negative form of the rule, the goats of Matthew 25:31-46 are found “not guilty.” Yet under the positive form of the Golden Rule – Jesus’ form – they are indeed found guilty.

This command that Jesus gives us must be significant if he also tells us that this statement is the summary of how to treat people according to the Law and the Prophets. This passage is one that is easy to read and gloss over, but to really understand the implications of this should result in a transformed view of our role as followers of Jesus. This passage raises the bar from a list of "what not to do", to endless possibilities of ways to serve and love those around us.

Take 5 minutes today to sit and reflect with a pen and piece of paper about what an ideal day would look like for you. How would others act toward you? How would they treat you? How would they speak to you? What would they do for you?

Got a good list? You now have in front of you a list of how Jesus calls us as his followers to treat everyone we come in contact with in our daily lives. If this is how you would like to be treated, then this is the way in which you are invited to partner with Jesus in your everyday life.

Challenging I know, but I can only imagine the possibilities if we as a community of believers were to take up this challenge in each of our lives. Behaviour like that is a light on a hill, and the salt that changes the flavour of our communities! Let's be that salt and that light.

Stay salty,

Stephen

Luke 15

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put iton him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”

How many sons did you see?

Two? Did you see the third son?

Interpreting Scripture – there are layers and context, look at the beginning word..."Then he said". Jesus is telling the parable but he is also the hero of the story being told by Luke. In Luke's gospel narrative he is the third son...the son telling a story about sons.

Luke tells a story about Jesus telling a story about...

• The son who ran away with his inheritance and returned as a servant
• The son who stayed at home as a servant and didn’t enter his inheritance
• Jesus is the son who tells the story, who came as a servant in his inheritance

First son’s mistake was infatuation with the product of relationship – his inheritance – this led to breakdown in relationship with the Father.

• Father said “he was dead”
• One of the inheritances he neglected was relationship with the Father, his role as a son
• It’s about what we can get sometimes-
  • Even his return home was self-serving, he was hungry
• It abuses the goodness of God the Father
• We can easily fall into this as Christians, especially those in ministry:- become infatuated with gifting, ministry, position etc. and neglect the source - the Father
• Ultimately, without connection with the Father the "inheritance" dwindles - this Christian's testimony is ancient history. There is nothing fresh from the Father.

Second son’s mistake – maintained a servant relationship with the Father, but he didn't enter into the Fathers goodness as a son, he could not see the Goodness of the Father, and begrudged the son who did. The Father told you could have had a fatted calf at anytime..."all I have is your's". Yet for some reason wasn't able to live that reality.

• This son is loyal, faithful and great at service but had missed something crucial about the Fathers nature
• That’s the religious tendency of people - we only accept what we believe we deserve. And apply that to others
• There is no room for a generous, gracious, loving Father
• It denies the goodness of God the Father
• This Christin resents the testimony of others

The first one was a son who needed to learn servant-hood
The second was in servant-hood, need to learn son-ship

The Third son – Jesus - walked in and ministered (served) from God’s goodness (inheritance).
He maintained relationship with the Father, and out of this reality power flowed.

As the son Jesus became the servant. He changed the world.

Saved => Servant / Son

As we grow in our faith we first encounter Christ as Saviour and soon learn He is Lord too. We go from sin awareness to becoming aware that there is a plan and purpose to our lives. We move from salvation focus to service and ministry. But the is a catch. We don't serve as servant - we serve as sons and daughters of the King.

This is a key distinction which cannot be emphasised enough... 

• A son can serve, but a servant cannot earn son-ship
• The rules are different. Consider a servant having a bad dream vs a child. There is different access to Dad.
• A servant earns wages - this is the nature of their relationship. The nature of a son or daughters relationship is their identity to Dad.

Our call is to walk in a relationship with God the Father, in the inheritance of Jesus Christ.

The silent years of Jesus

Jesus grew from childhood to adult ministry - What was happening in the in between years? Why so long a silence?
This period is framed between Jesus being “in My Father’s house”, and His baptism with Father speaking from heaven “This is my Son…”
His identity comes from God the Father

• Jesus was growing in “favour” with God – relationship between son and father
• Jesus disciples us in “son-ship”, to relate to God as Father – “Our Father in Heaven…”
• In service Jesus does what I see My Father do

Abiding with the father is the end goal of Jesus ministry. This is what He wants to teach us all. The destination of His ministry

He didn't just make this stuff up on the day or as part of his ministry. He didn't pull it out of thin air – He is describing a reality he lived in. A real relationship.
His offer is to prepare us for, and usher us into the reality He walked in. As sons and daughters in relationship with God the Father.

These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.

John 16

And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword;
In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.

Isaiah 49:2 

There is a hidden-ness where God makes his arrows. Jesus was hidden for much of His life. There is a process of making, preparation we also go through. This is a large part of God's work in our lives...

• Arrows are bent, needs heat and a process to straighten them out
• There is a time where He draws the arrow out to shoot it
• Before Jesus walked in His inheritance he grew in son-ship. From Son-ship He entered servanthood.
• No matter how much you mow my lawns etc it doesn't make you family
• No matter if my child does or doesn't mow the lawns doesn't’t change the family reality
• A mature son will walk in the Fathers authority and have responsibility

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL".

How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

A TRUE STORY By Helen Roseveare, Missionary to Africa

One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.

We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.

A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "...and it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children.

"Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby'll be dead; so, please send it this afternoon."

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, " ...And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.

Then, there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - - that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, "A brand-new rubber, hot water bottle!" I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months earlier in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "That afternoon!"

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

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Helen Roseveare, a missionary from Northern Ireland, included this true story in her book "Living Faith." She has written about the revival that took place in the 1950's in what was then the Belgian Congo. She has been associated with WEC (World Evangelization for Christ) at www.wec-int.org/

Brief History: Nebobongo Evangelical Hospital, was started in the 1950's by British missionary, Helen Roseveare, under WEC-Int'l (Worldwide Evangel for Christ). In 1964, rebels attacked the hospital, and Dr. Roseveare was arrested and brutally raped. Years later, she was able to return to DRC and forgive those who physically violated her, without touching her soul.

Preparation of Ourselves:

Preparing ourselves before God is an essential but often overlooked aspect of our life in the Spirit. It happens in secret.
It is the life of repentance and surrender – surrender of our will to the will of God - as revealed in Jesus.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3

Picture this:
Pharisees walk through a crowd of people – taking care not to be defiled. Their focus is to not sin.
Jesus walks through the same crowd. What is His focus? The glory of God.

• In Eden – Sin is defined two ways – transgression of the command and separation from God. The first people were thrown out of Eden, out of God’s glory – this is our reality
• Sin apart from the Law is defined by “the glory of God”. It is not what we have done wrong necessecarily. It is defined by the glory of what God intends, it is something I am still lacking
• Repentance is continually bringing our weakness and lack before our creator to be healed and remade, and to seek His glory
• Preparing ourselves to move in the power of the Spirit for God’s glory requires our willfulness to be surrendered
• Jesus agonised in the garden to surrender to the Father’s will

Important reflection points:

• How does God want to be glorified in and through your life
• Ask Him to speak to you about this
• What things are holding you back

Understanding the Spirit of Prophecy

To move in the power of the Holy Spirit it is crucial to understand who He is, what His role is and how we position ourselves. When Jesus was baptized a positional change occurred between HS and Jesus.
Prior to the baptism HS was active in creation and setting the stage – dreams, visions, prophecies etc. Jesus is learning obedience.
When Jesus was baptized the Father spoke “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him”
At that point God the Father delegates His authority to Jesus, endorsing Jesus word as His own.

That marks a shift in Jesus relationship with the HS. HS now backs up Jesus’ word and action with His power.
Jesus speaks in God’s authority, HS moves.
His power now supports the ministry and authority of Jesus. We enter into the ministry of Jesus, in submission to the Father empowered by the Holy Spirit.

At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Rev 19

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into

1 Peter 1

Key Points:

• HS reveals Jesus
• Our desire to know Jesus unlocks revelation – get the order right 
• That revelation will be centred on Jesus, His person and His ministry
• Rom 12 – we present ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit, first must be surrendered (not our will, God’s glory)
• Only HS can reveal Jesus – Angles are limited in their knowledge and cannot be the source of intimacy with God

Application:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Eph 2

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

2 Cor 3

See also Gal 4 – Christ formed in you

Key Points:

• Prophecy – is the revelation of Jesus, and His work in and through people
• The character of Jesus is really central

Exercise:

1. Present yourself before the Father, submitting your will
2. Ask for Jesus to be revealed – wait there as long as it takes – we can/must only “see” in His light
3. Present yourself to the HS to be moved by Him in the prophetic. Again wait.
4. See the person in the light of Jesus:
   • What do you recognise?
   • Where is He building – Bless it
   • What holds them back – Healing prayer

Note: Spiritual power can be very dangerous and it is important to get some basics right

• Spiritual power without surrender to Christ is a spirit of rebellion and ultimately witchcraft. Whose will is being served?
• Spiritual knowledge outside of Jesus and His Spirit is occult knowledge. Example: seeking revelation from angelic or spiritual beings, astral travel, listening to the dead, horoscopes, omens etc etc.
• The Holy Spirit is identified by the revelation of Jesus, and the power of the resurrection. In a surrendered life His presence manifests in human character through an inner transformation into the likeness of Jesus' character. We call this the fruit of the Spirit. 

Jeremiah 11:20 tells us that God tests our hearts, emotions and thinking powers.

But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.

When we want to test something we put it under pressure to see if it will do what it says it will do. We look to see if it will hold up under stress.

James 1:2-4 says that tests bring out what is in us. In times of trial we become best acquainted with ourselves and with what we are capable of doing.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

God is not impressed with what we say we will do . He is impressed with what we prove we can do under pressure. Sadly many people do not make it past the testing point , and they go around the same proverbial mountain.

But as per Psalm 23:4 We never have to worry or fear the tests of life because our Lord and Father will always be with us.

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?

Ecclesiastes 7:13

I love nature. Mountains, the bush, wilderness areas, gnarly old trees. All of it. It is messy but so beautiful.
God made all this, He created exactly that way -  It is an ordered chaos, He made it all.

I look around the room I am sitting in - you know what I see? 

Straight lines

People love straight lines. Obsessed with them even. It is like everything we do and make is made from straight lines.
I go to an art museum and admire abstract paintings - imprisoned in square frames...our world is made from straight lines.

God’s nature is very different from ours...the dimensions we inhabit are a creation of His, the rules and limits we follow just don't apply to Him.

It is little wonder He will not comply with my nice straight lines. Creation is the more majestic for it. 
God is unconstrained, He is wild, and on the loose, untamable. 

What we should expect when relating to Him?

He is the creator, there is purpose...
Part of that purpose is to get to a destination, but most of it is about the journey and our encounter with God along the way. This is the one who "walked in the cool of the evening" in the garden. He takes pleasure from His work, His creation. That includes us.
We find before too long that His way is rather different from ours...

I often find I Prepare for one way, but God takes me another.
He didn't change His mind, but I make the mistake of drawing a line between the few dots I see. I want to walk in a straight line from here to there. 
Well, those lines were of my creation, a product of my limits in understanding and nature.

Acts 17:24-28. The purpose of our limits is so we encounter God, and walk with Him

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being"

As we get to know Him, and seek to understand His will for our lives our human-ness immediately draws a straight line from here to there.  We must understand that God rarely draws a straight line in our lives. He delights to create from chaos.

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

There is a difference between the lamp of God and the Light of God. God give vision and make promises, milestones to aspire to. That is the light to your path. It is distant.

But it is rarely a straight line to get there...the lamp is required to illuminate the next step. 
That is where we find Him. In the intimate place of our daily decisions, our daily walk.

Scripture tells us how to walk with God…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Walking this way requires trust. It doesn't discount understanding but simply acknowledges we cannot lean on it. Why? Our understanding is always incomplete, dependent on straight lines. 

Expect God to direct you and trust His hand and ability to use each and every situation

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Our preoccupation with straightness can cause us to overlook where He may be working…,

So this is what I do, this is how my plans look now:

Plan B: This is my planing, based on what I understand. Nice and tidy.

Plan A: God interrupts plan B!

Kintsukuroi is a ancient art of repairing broken pottery with gold.

These repaired pieces became more valuable than when they were new.

The artist would carefully take the pottery and piece by piece mend them together and join the seams between the fractures and breaks with gold, Collectors became so enamored with the new art that some were accused of deliberately smashing valuable pottery so it could be repaired with the gold seams of kintsugi.

Kintsukuroi means ‘to repair with gold’ in Japanese, and understanding that the piece is the more beautiful for having been broken.

Such restoration creates a gorgeous piece of art and makes a philosophical statement as well. Kintsukuroi asserts that breakage and repair is part of the unique history of an object, rather than something to deny or disguise.

Each of us needs more golden repair in our lives, because we so often hide our brokenness. A friend hurts us deeply, and we retreat inside ourselves. We lose a job or suffer a pay cut, and pretend like everything is really okay. A spouse abuses us, but we never speak up. We sense that we have a drinking problem, but feel too embarrassed to ask for help. A marriage begins with intimacy and anticipation, and ends with alienation and anger. We can all probably add many more of our own life breakages to the list.

In Acts, Paul traveled to Ephesus in Asia Minor – He found twelve disciples there, and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they became believers. They replied, “We’ve not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (Acts 19:2)

These disciples might not be broken, but they clearly have some cracks. Not only had they not received the Holy Spirit, they didn’t even know that it existed!

Paul was perplexed. He asked, “What baptism did you receive, then?” They answered, “John’s baptism.” Paul then understood that they needed some golden repair, some “kintsukuroi” (Acts 19:3)

The disciples were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit entered them. Immediately, they spoke in tongues and prophesied, just like the first Christians on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 19:6)

The gift of the Holy Spirit – that’s pure gold! Suddenly, the gaps in the lives of these disciples were filled, and they were made whole as disciples of Jesus. But notice that there was no attempt to deny or disguise their deficiencies.

Instead, God filled their cracks with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, making them stronger and more beautiful in the broken places. That’s golden repair.

It reminds me of the song by Bill Gaither that went:

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life

If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble
They were my dreams at the start
And hope for life's best were the hopes
That I harbor down deep in my heart
But my dreams turned to ashes
And my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss
So I wrapped it all in the rags of life
And laid it at the cross.

May our Lord Jesus Christ make something beautiful out of the brokenness of your life.

Blessings

Jan